Thursday, April 21, 2011

Questar (STR) (SWN) (TAT) (MRO) Close Up as Oil Prices Explode

Shares of Questar Corporation (NYSE:STR), Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN), TransAtlantic Petroleum (NYSE:TAT) and Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) all closed up on Wednesday as oil prices surged in response to news oil inventories unexpectedly dropped.

Oil prices exploded on Wednesday to roar above the $111 a barrel mark, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced oil inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels for the week ending April 15.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May delivery for West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.17 or 2.93 percent to reach $111.45 a barrel.

The weakness of the U.S. dollar helped boost a number of commodities, including oil, as the U.S. dollar index dropped 0.91 on Wednesday.

Home heating oil prices increased 6.29 cents to $3.2214 a gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 4.42 cents to $3.2773 a gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices jumped 4.8 cents to $4.31 per million British thermal units.

The national average price of unleaded gasoline climbed to $3.837 a gallon Wednesday, up from Tuesday's $3.835, according to AAA.

Marathon Oil closed Wednesday at $53.32, up $2.04, or 3.98 percent. TransAtlantic Petroleum closed at $2.94, gaining $0.13, or 4.63 percent. Southwestern Energy ended the trading session at $40.79, jumping $0.87, or 2.18 percent. Questar Corporation closed at $17.04, rising $0.19, or 1.13 percent.

No comments: